Plan your Japan trip

Plan Japan with japanguide.se

Build a considered Japan trip through curated routes, seasonal choices, and city-specific recommendations. When the plan is right, a Japan specialist has useful context.

How the planner works

Choose a route, adjust pace and themes, watch the map update, and send planning context with the real decisions.

Choose a season

SpringSummerAutumnWinter

Choose a pace

CompactBalancedSlow

Curated routes

Classic first trip

Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka in a dependable first-time route.

First-time travelers who want cities, onsen, and the classic stops in one route.

Cities: Tokyo · Hakone · Kyoto · Osaka

Day plan

  1. Day 1Arrival and first Tokyo evening
    Start softly with a nearby dinner and an early evening.
  2. Day 2Tokyo: classic axes
    Pair iconic districts with calmer detours.
  3. Day 3Tokyo: your own angle
    Use the day for design, shopping, or food depending on your focus.
  4. Day 4Move to Hakone
    Change pace, check in, and let onsen carry the day.
  5. Day 5Hakone with a view
    Blend nature, museums, or Fuji views depending on the weather.
  6. Day 6Kyoto: historic core
    Move onward and keep the first Kyoto day concentrated, not crowded.
  7. Day 7Kyoto: temples and gardens
    Lean into districts that reward a slower rhythm.
  8. Day 8Kyoto: personal focus
    Keep the day open for craft, tea, food, or shopping.
  9. Day 9Osaka: contrast and evening energy
    Osaka becomes Kyoto's counterpoint with more energy and spontaneity.
  10. Day 10Wrap-up and departure
    End with a last meal and an easy departure.

Slow culture & craft

Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Nara with a slower rhythm and a craft-driven lens.

Travelers who prioritize craft, urban texture, and reflective cultural stops.

Cities: Tokyo · Kanazawa · Kyoto · Nara

Day plan

  1. Day 1Tokyo: arrival
    Land and keep the first evening close.
  2. Day 2Tokyo: contemporary form
    Let design and everyday culture steer the day.
  3. Day 3Tokyo: slower city day
    Keep time for smaller streets and local stops.
  4. Day 4Kanazawa: first look
    Move to a more concentrated cultural city.
  5. Day 5Kanazawa: craft and gardens
    Move between craft, market life, and gardens.
  6. Day 6Kyoto: low-key arrival
    Enter Kyoto through one district at a time.
  7. Day 7Kyoto: cultural core
    One day for temples, rituals, and the city's older layers.
  8. Day 8Kyoto: your own direction
    Go deeper into what has felt strongest so far.
  9. Day 9Nara: closing chapter
    Keep the last city day shaped by stillness and easy logistics.
  10. Day 10Departure
    Depart through the Kansai region.

Food & city pulse

Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto with food, energy, and evening life at the center.

Travelers who want every day to build toward a strong evening.

Cities: Tokyo · Osaka · Kyoto

Day plan

  1. Day 1Tokyo: arrival
    Start near the hotel and conserve energy.
  2. Day 2Tokyo: neighborhood eating
    Build the day through several smaller food stops.
  3. Day 3Tokyo: night pulse
    Let the evening become the trip's first major peak.
  4. Day 4Osaka: arrival and first bites
    Enter Osaka through a market, alley, or neighborhood core.
  5. Day 5Osaka: full day
    Make room for both classics and something more local.
  6. Day 6Osaka: reserve evening
    Keep one evening free for what you want to return to.
  7. Day 7Kyoto: quieter transition
    Lower the speed but keep the food focus.
  8. Day 8Kyoto: flavor and ritual
    Lean into Kyoto's more precise expressions of dining.
  9. Day 9Kyoto: final day
    Finish with slower walks and one last strong table.
  10. Day 10Departure
    Travel home from Kansai.

Calm onsen & city contrast

Tokyo, Yokohama, Hakone, and Kyoto with recovery and contrast built in.

Couples or small groups who want cities without staying in high gear the whole time.

Cities: Tokyo · Yokohama · Hakone · Kyoto

Day plan

  1. Day 1Tokyo: soft start
    Keep the first day light and local.
  2. Day 2Tokyo: deliberate contrast
    Alternate between energy and calmer streets or parks.
  3. Day 3Yokohama: spacious side route
    Add a harbor-city night for a different urban rhythm.
  4. Day 4Hakone: the transition
    The route now becomes meaningfully more restorative.
  5. Day 5Hakone: views and onsen
    Let the weather decide how active the day becomes.
  6. Day 6Kyoto: first day
    Kyoto becomes a quiet final chapter.
  7. Day 7Kyoto: gardens and ritual
    Choose experiences shaped by calm rather than checklist pressure.
  8. Day 8Kyoto: reserve day
    Keep one day in reserve for weather, rest, or a favorite neighborhood.
  9. Day 9Wrap-up
    Wrap up with an easy trip home.

Curated stops in each city

The planner reuses the site's existing hotels, restaurants, sights, and guides so the experience stays consistent.

Tokyo

Hakone

Kyoto

Osaka

Kanazawa

Nara

Planning checks

Current notes are used as decision support when dates, transport, tickets, closures, or hotel areas may be affected.

20/09/2026

Choose help by the decision that feels hardest

Planning starts with the intake. A Japan specialist can then help where the risk is highest.

Email a Japan specialist